Weed discovery near Mackay poses serious threat to crops

Rural lobby group AgForce says the recent discovery of the serious exotic red witch weed in the Mackay region in north Queensland is very concerning.

The weed was discovered on a cane property near Mackay last week and Biosecurity Queensland says tests have confirmed it as the first case in Australia.

The weed is usually found in the United States and causes serious damage to cereal crops like wheat and grain.

AgForce central region president Peter Anderson says it is important the weed is controlled quickly.

"If it got into the hinterland it would spread quite quickly on harvesting machinery and also on grain that is shipped - grain from here goes to the Atherton Tablelands on almost a weekly basis," he said.

"It could be spread fairly quickly in the grain industry because the grain is used for stockfeed in Australia."

Mr Anderson says the reputation of the local industry is at threat if the weed spreads.

"We've got a reputation for producing a clean, green product around the world and the more pests we have, the more chemicals we'll have to use and that type of thing," he said.

"It continually puts us at a disadvantage to our competitors worldwide."